EUROPA League
Solskjaer hoping Europa League win acts as springboard to further success
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes that winning the Europa League would be the start of “something more” for the club.
United take on Spanish side Villarreal in Wednesday’s final in Gdansk, looking to win their first trophy since a Europa League success under Jose Mourinho in 2017.
Having finished second in the Premier League this term – their highest finish in the Norwegian’s three seasons in charge – Solskjaer is aiming even higher as he looks to restore United to their former glories.
“These are big nights for us, it might be the stepping stone for something better to come,” Solskjaer told a news conference on Tuesday (May 25).
“It is a bright future for this team, a young team, it’s a team we’ve rebuilt over the last few years. Hopefully, this is the start of something more.
“When players sign to play for Man United, they sign to win trophies. They accept the challenge of being the best, because this is the best club in the world so that’s the pleasure of the pressure of Man United.”
Former manager Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues during his United tenure, travelled with the team to Poland.
Solskjaer is looking to lead United to glory 22 years to the day since his winner in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich completed an historic treble under Ferguson, and the Norwegian welcomed the presence of the club’s most successful coach in Poland.
“He’s a special man and he’s like an encyclopaedia of football, even though I got him on a quiz question yesterday,” Solskjaer added.
“One of the players got the answer before him, I’m sure he’s not happy at that.
“Just to have him around when we eat, if the players wonder about something they can ask him, he’s always available for a chat because this is the club of his heart.
“I hope he enjoys tomorrow night because I owe most of my career to him and this club.”
However, Solskjaer remained tight-lipped on captain Harry Maguire’s fitness. The 28-year-old sustained ankle ligament damage at Aston Villa 16 days ago and was using crutches until last week.
“We’ve prepared well,” Solskjaer said.
“Anthony (Martial) didn’t make it, Phil (Jones) of course didn’t make it and Harry is just going to jog up and down the sideline (in training on Tuesday).
“He’ll probably try to join in (training) a little.”
-Reuters
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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